Return to Me
by amulet-berriie
Summary: Sequel to "He Loves me, He Loves Me Not". Read that first if you haven't please. Summary inside fanfiction! HIATUS
1. Appearance of Hyuuga Natsume

Hey everyone! Amulet-berriie back again! I'm REALLY sorry for the LONGGGG delay for this sequel. Uhmm... I actually don't know how I'm going to write this sequel, so I kindly ask for your wait. I will promise NOT to drop this story out or anything and WILL CONTINUE until the VERY. LAST. CHAPTER. But you'll need to be very patient seeing I still need to think more about the story. I know I said I'd post the story up on during the holidays and it's the LAST day of the holiday, I sincerely apologized for the delay again. Please forgive me. ANYWAY.

HERE'S THE SEQUEL TO "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not". I've decided to make each chapter longer than the previous story. By the way, IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE PREQUEL, GO READ IT NOW. ENJOY THE FIRST CHAPTER TO... **RETURN TO ME**.

Oh right, the summary:

**One heart, two boys. Her old time crush has suddenly appeared right in front of her after 4 years of going to Alice Academy US and not contacting her. Not to mention her ex-boyfriend suddenly comes back from Italy and has become "even greater" than he was before! What will happen to Mikan!**

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**Chapter One**

**Appearance of Hyuuga Natsume**

Mikan Sakura laid on top of her bed in her new dormitory with her suitcase on the ground. It was near the end of August and she was happy she got a room. Last year she had to rent a room in a house because the university dormitory didn't have any space anymore because she registered for one too late. This year, she was the first to register for a room with her roommate Hotaru Imai. Hotaru wasn't moving in at the moment though, she'll be moving in with Mikan the next day because she was on a vacation with her family members and coming back today. Mikan sighed of boredom and yawned a bit. She dialed Ruka Nogi's number to see if he was available.

"Hello? Mikan?" Ruka asked on the other line.

"Rukaaaa, I'm so bored. Haven't seen you for a long time, are you free? You want to go hang out?"

"Sure, but give me a few minutes, I'm unpacking right now. Hey! Agh! Miyanaga-san! Please do not touch that, it's quite fragile! Sorry Mikan, it might take longer than I expected because my roommate is looking through my stuff. I'll call you when I'm done, gomen, bye!" Ruka hung up on Mikan after.

Mikan blinked for a while as she looked at her cell which said 'Conversation Ended'. She huffed a bit and closed her cell. She got up from her bed, picked up her purse and walked out the door. She took out her cell again and dialed up Hotaru's number to see if she was back yet.

"Sorry, this number is unavailable at the moment," the operator said.

"Ugh, where are you Hotaru?" Mikan said, frustrated. She searched up Yuu's number and tried him instead.

"Moshi Moshi?" Yuu said.

"Yuu! Are you free? Please don't tell me you're unpacking too, I'm in desperate need of hanging out with someone," Mikan said as she walked out of the University Dorm building and headed towards the path to a park.

"Um, I'm not unpacking, I'm done. But I'm eating lunch with my mom…" Yuu said.

"Oh, sorry to bother then! Sumimasen, continue eating your lunch and tell your mom I said hi," Mikan said apologetically.

"Okay, bye," Yuu hung up as well. Mikan dropped her head and closed her cell. She placed the cell in her purse and walked silently towards the park. She looked at the greenness of the trees and took a deep breath of fresh air. The shades from the trees covered her from the sunlight and she walked through a path. She sat down at a nearby bench and watched a little girl play with a little boy.

"Don't touch that shovel! It's mine!" The little boy said and shoved the girl to the ground taking the shovel she dropped. The girl's eyes began to tear and the boy began to panic.

"Gomene Miyabi-chan! Here! I was kidding; you can play with the shovel!" the boy took the girl's hand and placed the shovel gently into her palm. He wiped her tears with his shirt. The girl then after wiped her own tears with the back of her hand and wiped it on her shirt.

"Daijoubu Miyabi-chan? Gomenasai!" the little boy said.

"H… hai. Daijoubu S… Saitou-kun," the little girl said as she stood up. Mikan smiled as she watched the little kids. Her cell suddenly rang. She looked at the caller ID.

"Ohaio Kiyoshi!" Mikan said joyfully.

"Haha, you sound excited," Kiyoshi said.

"Of course, I was sooo bored but you came to the rescue!" Mikan said.

Kiyoshi laughed again. "So what's up? You finally moved into the dormitory yet?"

"Yep! I didn't unpack though, I got lazy. Ruka's unpacking though, but he'll be with me in a while after he's done. Anything new with you lately Kiyoshi?"

"No, nothing new, just sight-seeing right now,"

"Oh! I never really asked what you're majoring yet," Mikan said.

"Ah, I'm majoring designing clothes and such."

"Ohhh, so when are you going to design one personally for me?" Mikan laughed.

"I'm working on it right now. I'll give it to you when I come back. I'm in Italy right now," Kiyoshi told Mikan.

"Ohhh, oh, I got another phone call, must be Ruka. I'll talk to you later than, okay Kiyoshi?"

"Okay, I don't want to waste your money on the billing too,"

"Yikes, almost forgot about that, okay bye! Loves you,"

"Loves you too," Kiyoshi hung up as did Mikan. Mikan picked up the next phone call.

"Moshi moshi?" she said.

"Mikan? Sorry, I'm still unpacking. My roommate is messing everything up again and being really annoying, I'll meet up with you at the café shop in front of the university in an hour, okay?" Ruka told Mikan.

"Fine, I'll see you then! Bye," Mikan hung up and saw that the two kids had already disappeared. Bored again, Mikan got up to do some shopping. She went to the nearest shopping center and went to a clothing store. She walked over to the miniskirts section and began to look through the skirts there were. There was another lady around the same age as her looking through the same group as her too. Mikan found a black denim skirt she liked with a drop chain from the back to the front of the skirt. As she reached over for it, the other lady also reached for it too. Their hands bumped into each others.

"Oh, sorry, my apologies," the girl said.

"No no, here," Mikan took the skirt out and handed it to the girl, "you saw it first right?"

"It's alright, you can look at it, there are other skirts to look at," she replied.

"No, I insist," Mikan told her.

"Haha, no here look," the girl reached into the group again and took out the same skirt, "here's another one."

"Oh, haha," Mikan laughed and the girl laughed with her. They giggled together and after a few seconds, had finally settled.

"I'm Koizumi Luna by the way," Luna reached out a hand.

"Sakura Mikan, are you out alone?" Mikan asked.

"Actually no, my boyfriend's here with me, I don't know where he disappeared to though, he said he's going to eat so he's probably in the food court. Are you alone?"

"Oh, and yeah, I'm alone. I'm meeting my friend in 30 minutes though."

"Oh, how nice, meeting friends. I haven't got any friends yet. I've only been here for a year."

"Is that right?"

"Well, I'm going to go buy this skirt then head over to the food court."

"Oh, I better buy this too and meet up with my friend," Mikan agreed. The two girls walked over to the cashier and purchased their skirts.

"Bye Sakura-san! It was nice meeting you," Luna said.

"Yes it was nice meeting you too Koizumi-san. Bye," the two girls separated as Luna walked to the food court and Mikan walked to the café. After 15 minutes of walking to the café, Mikan walked in and saw Ruka had already arrived.

"Ruka!"

"Mikan? Whoa! You dyed your hair colour!"

"Yeah, hehe, you like it?" Mikan asked as she sat down in front of Ruka.

"Uh, it looks nice."

"So anyways, you're here early."

"Yeah, I was able to get my roommate to stop messing with my stuff after he heard I had to meet a friend, here's your ice cap," Ruka said tiredly. Mikan sat down in the chair across from Ruka.

"Thanks and yikes, good luck with your roommate," Mikan said.

"Thanks, you think I can switch rooms? Maybe not, it's alright, I'll get used to Miyanaga-san. So what were you doing before?"

"I bought this really cute miniskirt! You want to see it?" Mikan asked.

"Uh… sure?" Ruka said. He knew Mikan would show him whether he wanted to see it or not. Mikan took the skirt out of the shopping bag.

"Kawaii ne?" Mikan smiled.

"It fits you really nicely. Oh, why'd you dye your hair black?"

"Black with a red streak at the front!"

"Same thing,"

"I don't know, I guess I like black now. Oh, you know Ruka, I met this really cute girl when I was shopping. She got the same skirt as me too!"

"Oh? Really? That's nice, did you ask for her name?"

"Oh! Yeah! Her name was… uhm…"

"Did you forget?" Ruka took a sip from his latte.

"No, let me think. Oh! Luna, Koizumi Luna!" Mikan said. Ruka spat out the latte he had drank.

"What?"

"Ewww, Ruka, that's disgusting!" Mikan picked up a few tissue papers and began to wipe the table from the spat out latte.

"Gomen, but what did you say her name was?"

"Koizumi Lunaaaa!" Mikan said loudly and annoyed. Ruka opened his mouth to talk but was then stopped by a loud shriek of happiness.

"Sakura-san!" Luna ran over to Mikan's table, "it _is_ you Sakura-san!"

"Koizumi-san! Konnichiwa, fancy seeing you again," Mikan said.

"I know eh?"

"Did you find your boyfriend?" Mikan asked. Ruka sulked a little, trying to hide his face.

"Yeah, he's buying drinks right now though, is it okay if I share the table with you seeing we know each other? Oh! Sorry, are you on a date with you boyfriend?"

"Eh? No no! This is my friend I was talking about!"

"Oh! Splendid! Is it okay if he sits beside you while I sit with my boyfriend across from you guys then?"

"No problem! R-" Mikan didn't have to call Ruka's name to get him to move. He was already beside her by the time she said it was fine. He still kept his head down low though. Luna sat down.

"Arigatou uhm…"

"Ruka?" a voice was heard as all three heads at the table shot up to see who it was. Mikan's eyes widened really big. Luna smiled and Ruka's eyes widened with worry.

"Ruka? Ruka Nogi? Is that really you? Oh my gosh I haven't seen you in ages and I hardly recognized it was you! Natsume, come sit here, Sakura-san was nice enough to let us share a table," Natsume's glance fell on Mikan who turned her head towards the window.

"Hai, how are you Luna-chan?" Ruka smiled with hesitation.

"Tsk tsk, no need to be so formal my long time childhood friend. Sit down Natsume!" Luna said.

"There's a free spot over there," Natsume replied coldly.

"I want to sit here!" Luna huffed.

"Fine," Natsume said and sat down, and looked at Mikan.

"This is the cute girl I was talking about that I ran into! I forgot her name for a minute, but after seeing her, I suddenly remembered," Luna told Natsume.

Natsume and Mikan looked at each other for a minute. Mikan still not believing who was sitting in front of her after so many years.

"Sakura-san, this is my boyfriend, Hyuuga Natsume. Natsume, this is Sakura Mikan," Luna introduced.

"Oh… Hello" was what Natsume said and nodded.

"We know each other," was all Mikan said.

"Really? Natsume never told me anything about you!" Luna said in a surprised tone.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you… have you maybe mistaken me for someone else?" Natsume asked.

"Huh? No, I'm sure I haven't…" Mikan said.

"But this is the first time I'm meeting you…" Natsume confirmed.

"What? Oh… maybe I have mistaken you for someone else…" Mikan looked out the window sadly.

"Natsume, how can you not know who she is?" Ruka blurted out.

"I said I don't know her!" Natsume glared at the two of them. Luna looked at Natsume and Ruka and quickly thought of something to interrupt the two.

"Hehe! Sakura-san,"

"Oh no, please call me Mikan, if it's alright with me calling you Luna," Mikan turned to look at Luna and smiled at her.

"Oh, okay, Mikan, is it alright if I have your cell number? Seeing we all know each other somehow," Luna asked politely.

"Sure, may I have your cell?" Mikan asked. Luna gave it to her and Mikan stored her number in. Mikan gave Luna her cell to store Luna's number in.

"So, what University do you guys go to?" Luna asked.

"University of Tokyo," Ruka replied monotonously.

"Oh, wonderful! Natsume and I go there too! Mysterious how we never bumped into each other," Luna giggled. Mikan cringed.

"We have another friend that goes to the same Uni, her name's Imai Hotaru. She's a great friend; you'll like her a lot. She can be cold at times though," Mikan said.

"Ah yes, Imai Hotaru, Natsume told me about her. The girl with the invention Alice right?" Luna asked.

"Ah… yeah, did Natsume tell you about anyone else?" Mikan asked Luna.

"Hm? Oh yeah, he told me about Narumi-sensei, Yuu-kun, Koko-kun, Sum-" Luna said. Natsume cleared his voice a few times.

"Oh, Natsume, are you okay? You're not catching a cold are you?" Luna asked, concerned.

"No, something caught my throat; I think it's time for us to leave, I see Pi-chan outside of the café waiting with our luggage," Natsume said.

"Who's Pi-chan?" Ruka asked.

"Our butler, oh, is it time to move into the University already?" Luna asked.

"Yes, hurry, Pi-chan's going to get angered if we're not out. You know how it hates it when we're slow," Natsume said, getting up.

"Finee," Luna whined and she got up too.

"Who's your roommate Luna?" Mikan asked.

"Uhm, some person named Suzy, she's foreign I guess, but at least a new friend!" Luna said, "oh yeah, who's your roommate Natsume?"

"Hm? I'm rooming alone, I got permission, now let's go!" Natsume said.

"What? That's not fair!" Luna complained as they walked out the café. Ruka and Mikan watched them go out and enter a car with a butler holding the car door who must've been "Pi-chan". The butler closed the door after Natsume got in and went around to the driver's seat and drove off. Mikan watched as the car disappeared.

"So… he really did never talk about me," Mikan said softly as she watched the car turn around the corner, entering the University's parking lot.

"Uhm, I… I see you're done with your ice cap, do you want another one?" Ruka asked. Mikan shook her head and looked at her watch.

"5:37, let's head back then Ruka," Mikan said as she got up. She threw her empty cup of ice cap and opened the door. Ruka followed her procedure and went out the door too. A ring tone was suddenly heard.

"Is that yours?" Ruka asked.

"Yeah, it's Hotaru," Mikan took out her cell and opened it, "Moshi moshi? Hotaru?"

"Oi, baka, you still haven't unpacked! And where in the world are you?" Hotaru yelled through the phone, loud enough for Ruka to hear.

"Are you in the room? I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow," Mikan said in a monotone.

"Change of plans, I came early in case you'd get lonely tonight," Hotaru said.

"Thoughtful Hotaru, arigatou," Mikan said, "I'll be back soon; I'm in the café across from the school with Ruka."

"Okay, but you better hurry up or else I'll make you pay again," Hotaru said and hung up.

"Hotaru's back?" Ruka asked.

"Yeah, and she wants me to hurry back and unpack everything so let's go," Mikan said in a sad tone. She crossed the street and got to the other side and kept going. Ruka watched her back from the other side of the road. Mikan kept walking and never turned her head to see if Ruka was following, Ruka then knew, Mikan was upset. Not just upset, heartbroken.

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Yeah, that was chapter one! I'm not very sure when the NEXT chapter is coming out... I'm pretty sure not within a week though... Exams are coming up soon and i need to focus on that as well. So anyway, hope you enjoyed chapter one! Sorry if you didn't like it. But I thought it was okk... Haha. So until next time!

Preview of Chapter Two: Mikan's Cloudy Heart

**"****"Of course I don't mind, Natsume didn't want you to, but I convinced him!" Luna said, happy that she could help a friend, although Mikan didn't want it.**

**..**

**Natsume suddenly turned his head and looked at her. Although Mikan was looking at Luna, she could feel Natsume staring at her hoping she would go, for some reason. .**

**..**

**"She sure ran off quickly, at least she wasn't crying," Luna said, shrugging. Natsume looked over at where Mikan was and saw tear stain on the table cloth and a few drops on the plate. Natsume knew she cried."**

And that ends the preview for Return to Me's Chapter Two: Mikan's Cloudy Heart.

Remember my warning: I cannot promise the second chapter will be out soon, but i'll try to upload it asap.

XOXO,

Amulet-berriie


	2. Mikan's Cloudy Heart

HEY EVERYONE. I'm VERY sorry for holding chapter two back for about a month. I've been busy with school and slacking off with writing the fanfiction because I got lazy... also I had exams during the last week of January. BUT NO WORRIES. Exam's over and semester two just started. So I still have plenty of time.

So anyway, it seemed that chapter one had A LOT of comments, more than I had expected. THIRTEEN reviews! Woot! Thank you readers for reading and leaving a comment! ^^ It's very much appreciated. -bows- Let's go check out the reviews shall we?

**_natsumikan15-Thank you for reviewing and liking my stories. I still think that my stories are average. Haha. Also, thank you for the luck for my exams. I did well. (:_**

**__****Crimson Princess Yuuki**-Haha thank you! Sorry for the long wait!

_**Angel445566superb**-Haha, chapter two out. ;)_

_**cjmej123**-Ohhh, my stories complicated? ^^ Awesomee._

_**behind-those-crimson-eyes**-awww, thank you for loving my story even though it was only the first chapter. XD I hope you will still like it after a few more chapters._

_**xXBlackTenshiXx**-I know what you mean. DX Reading so many fanfictions when waiting for a sequel really sucks because you forget the prequel._

**_Jessica-Thank you. :)_**

**_natsumikan0909-Update for chapter two complete! ;)_**

**_AniME AddiCtz-Haha, thank you for the welcome back greeting. :) And yes, I know, many dislikes it when Mikan cries because of Natsume. But what can she do? :P_**

**_keraii-it's good... SO FAR. ;) But not sure about the afterwards. :P_**

**_shainingu etowa-ru-It's okay! :D I don't expect people to review EVERYTHING. ;P One is good too. ^^ Thank you for reviewing._**

**_s0rRoWfuLaNgeL012-When the reader doesn't know and can't think of the next part, it's a good sign for the author. :D I guess we'll just have to see what happens in the later chapters._**

**_natsumexmikan 123- :D Thank you for liking my story. ^^_**

***gasp* finally done all reviews. ANYWAY, enjoy chapter two! :)**

**

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Chapter Two**

**Mikan's Cloudy Heart**

"What's wrong with that girl?" Hotaru asked Ruka as she looked at Mikan.

Once Mikan had gotten back to her dormitory, she started unpacking without saying a word. Not a cheery 'Konnichiwa Hotaru!' just a straight face and walked to her luggage. She unzipped it and took out every clothes neatly, placing them on the ground. Hotaru was already done unpacking by the time the two of her friends had entered the door. She walked over to the drawer and placed all her clothes in there.

"We saw Natsume today at the café. He was with Koizumi Luna, his girlfriend. The thing that really got her was that Natsume acted as if he doesn't know her and even said he doesn't know her. It seemed he didn't remember her at all or never thought about her," Ruka explained quietly being sure not to let Mikan hear. Mikan got up from her crouched position and wiped a sweat away, sighing. Ruka and Hotaru watched her move back and forth from luggage to places where her stuff belonged. It was silent for half an hour while Mikan was unpacking. No one said a thing.

When Mikan was finally done, she placed her luggage in the closet and looked at Ruka and Hotaru. They looked back at her, no, rather, stared at her without a smile.

"Hai?" Mikan asked as she tilted her head watching them with a confused look.

"Spit out what happened baka," Hotaru said to her directly without asking if everything was okay. Hotaru was the same Hotaru as she was in Gakuen Alice; a blunt person, very blunt indeed.

"Eh? What are you talking about? I'm fine," Mikan forced a smile which looked natural, "see?"

"I told you to never lie to me 5 years ago, and you're still lying to me?" Hotaru said sternly.

"Hai… gomenasai," Mikan stopped smiling and dropped her head. Ruka sat on Hotaru's bed while Hotaru walked over to Mikan and started patting her on the head to comfort her.

"Now, what happened?" Hotaru asked once more, knowing Mikan would tell her this time.

"I saw Natsume and it seemed he never thought about me once while he was in the States. That's all," Mikan turned her head and looked out the window, "now if you'll excuse me, I'd like some time alone."

Mikan left the room, leaving Ruka and Hotaru behind. She closed the door behind her and stood in front of it. She sat down and leaned against the door with a sigh. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then a door closed. Sounded like her next door neighbour whom she never met yet. She didn't bother opening her eyes to see who it was. Until her name was called.

"Sakura… iie, Mikan, what are you doing on the ground there?" the voice said. Mikan looked up and saw her new friend.

"Oh, hello again Luna, I live in this room with Hotaru, do you live in that room?" Mikan asked her.

"Hai, it seems we're neighbours! Yoroshiku as your neighbour Mikan! I just finished unpacking and I'm off to meet Natsume in a Sushi restaurant for dinner, would you like to come? I'm sure Natsume wouldn't mind," Luna said.

"Haha, Arigatou, demo I think I'm just going to go for a walk around," Mikan told Luna. Mikan smiled at Luna warmly, although it was more of a forced smile again. Luna looked at Mikan and blinked a few times. She then took out her high tech, expensive, limited, cell phone that made Mikan drop her jaw.

"Hello? Natsume, is it alright if Mikan eats with us?" Mikan heard Luna ask. Mikan shook her head no vigorously and started waving her hands in a 'no' motion.

"It's fine! I don't need to go!" Mikan mouthed.

"Nani? Doushite? Demooo, Mikan looks sad, onegai?" Luna pleaded. Mikan still kept shaking her head no and waving her hands no.

"Hontoni desu ka? Yay! Arigatou! Ja, matte ne!" Luna hung up and looked at Mikan who drooped on the ground.

"You really didn't have to Luna-chan," Mikan said, unhappy that she had to go see Natsume, the person she least wanted to see.

"Eh? Why not! We're all friends, so come, stop drooping on the ground," Luna held out a hand which Mikan only looked at. She got up on her own, hunching her back.

"Are you sure you won't mind me tagging along?" Mikan asked emotionlessly.

"Of course I don't mind, Natsume didn't want you to, but I convinced him!" Luna said, happy that she could help a friend, although Mikan didn't want it.

_I figured he didn't want me there… perhaps that was why I asked not to go with you Luna…_ Mikan thought to herself. She dropped her head when they entered the elevator and sighed. Luna looked at her friend, smiled, and patted her on the back as if telling Mikan everything's fine.

_**DING!**_ The elevator went when they reached ground level. Luna and Mikan stepped out of the elevator and made their way to the Sushi Restaurant. Mikan decided that she'll at least pretend to be fine in front of Luna and Natsume just to show she was fine. She didn't want everyone to crowd over her just because they were wondering what had happened.

"So Mikan, why are you upset?" Luna asked out of thin air.

"E… eh? Why do you think I'm upset?" Mikan shot back.

"You seemed upset when I saw you in front of your room," Luna asked.

"Oh, iie, I was just tired because I had finished unpacking my stuff too," Mikan replied. She smiled at Luna to show that she was fine and she really didn't have to go with Luna to the Sushi restaurant.

"Oh, it's alright, you can still come eat with us despite your mood. By the way Mikan, what are you aiming to be in the future and Ruka? I'm going to be an actress, Natsume's going to be a doctor," Luna replied.

"Natsume's going to be a doctor?" Mikan asked confused. _Is it really alright seeing he's a little rough and all..._

"Yep! He's really smart, so I told him that he should become a doctor, I think he'd make a great one, don't you?" Luna asked. Mikan smiled and nodded hesitantly.

"Well, Ruka's aiming to be a vet and I'm aiming to be a teacher for kindergarten, I love little kids," Mikan replied.

"I think you'd make a great teacher Mikan! You're always cheerful and happy!" Luna said.

_That makes only one of us… I'm not cheerful or happy at all right now_. Mikan thought. She smiled and started laughing uncertainly. The rest of the way Luna was asking Mikan questions while Mikan only gave short answers. She didn't really feel like talking at all.

"Ah, we're here!" Luna pointed ahead at a really big and fancy restaurant. Mikan stared at it for it was very huge and eye catching. Luna led Mikan in and searched for Natsume. She spotted a raven haired guy looking out the window and knew that was him. She dragged Mikan along by her shirt and made her way to Natsume. Natsume looked up when Luna stopped right in front of him.

"Oi, that took you so long," Natsume said sternly.

"Gomen, Mikan was drooping around," Luna said, sitting in the seat beside Natsume. Mikan took the seat in front of Luna near the window.

"Konnichiwa Natsu, ah… Hyuuga-san," Mikan nodded her head in politeness towards him. Natsume nodded back.

"What do you want Mikan?" Luna asked.

"I'll just order salmon sashimi, that's it. I need to go back to the dorm to cook dinner. Ruka was supposed to eat dinner with us and Hotaru's too lazy to cook, Ruka's the guest too," Mikan said.

"Oh, Hotaru's back?" Luna asked as Mikan nodded her head, "What is she aiming to be?"

"Not exactly aiming, more like is, but wants to do deeper into study, an inventor," Mikan replied. Luna nodded her head. The waiter than came and took all the order, after a few minutes their food was brought back. Mikan's meal compared to Luna and Natsume's was really small. She had a small plate of salmon sashimi with 6 pieces and the other two had dishes of sushi, sashimi and everything.

"Itadakimasu!" they all said.

"Oh! Natsume dear, I want to go shopping tomorrow," Luna said.

"Nani? Again? You went today!" Natsume said.

"Yeah, but there's a huge sale tomorrow! Pleaseee?" Luna begged.

"No," Natsume objected.

Luna leaned towards him and with puppy eyes said, "Onegai?" Natsume looked away from her gaze because he didn't want to give in. Luna shook his arm lightly.

"Okay, okay, we'll go tomorrow!" Natsume gave in. He placed his head on his face.

"Yay! Thank you! You're the best," Luna laughed and hugged Natsume, "you want to come Mikan?"

Natsume suddenly turned his head and looked at her. Although Mikan was looking at Luna, she could feel Natsume staring at her hoping she would go, for some reason. But she couldn't stand that she's see Natsume with Luna.

"Uhm… n…no, it's… alright. I'm going to uh… stay in the room with uh… Hotaru and maybe go around with Ruka," Mikan said, quickly looking down and popping her sashimi in her mouth.

"Oh, that's too bad, so anyways Natsume, I need a new top to go with the new skirt we bought today," Luna said. Natsume sighed. Mikan watched them through her bangs with the fork in her mouth.

_Whaaa, they look like a really fitted couple. I knew I shouldn't have come…_ Mikan looked back down and found a tear had dropped from her eyes to her plate. Mikan's eyes widen and wiped the tears around her eyes with the tissue beside her.

"Mikan? Are you crying?" Luna asked with concern in her voice. Mikan froze on the spot. She stuffed that last sashimi in her mouth, clearing her throat.

"Ah, no! Of course not, I'm finished my meal, gochisousama! Thank you for the meal, I'll be leaving now!" Mikan shot up from her seat and ran off swiftly before letting them see more tears roll down.

"She sure ran off quickly, at least she wasn't crying," Luna said, shrugging. Natsume looked over at where Mikan was and saw tear stain on the table cloth and a few drops on the plate. Natsume knew she cried.

"Okaiedi!" Mikan yelled when she came in the door to her room. By then, her eyes had already dried up. She walked in the door wondering where Hotaru and Ruka went. There was a note left for Mikan by the two of them.

_Mikan, we went out to eat. Not telling you where, you took too long coming back and we were hungry. Enjoy your meal by yourself; by the way, Ruka was kind enough to cook for you. –Hotaru_

Mikan lifted the cloth that was covering the food wrapped in plastic. The food looked really delicious. It was rare for people to eat Ruka's cooking because he only cooked for himself, but Ruka was a good cook alright, or so it seemed. The only time they ever ate his cooking was for Mikan's 18th birthday. Ruka had baked a cake on his own. And that cake was delicious.

"Itadakimasu!" Mikan cried happily and started eating the food, "Mm, oishi!"

Halfway through eating, she suddenly stopped. It was all quiet… She suddenly felt so alone. She noticed she didn't turn the light on when she came in the house because she was curious as to where her friends went. The only light that shone was the moon that had risen a few minutes ago; the moon that had shone down at her food. The whole room was dark otherwise. Mikan placed her bowl of rice down on the table to the side. She placed her head down on the table, thinking about Natsume and Luna. Flashbacks of what happened 4-5 years ago came back to her. How she knew Natsume was only toying with her feelings and meant nothing that day they confessed to each other. How Natsume never replied to her mails at all, and finally, finding out it was because he had a girlfriend.

To tell the truth, she didn't hate Luna at all for taking the guy she loved. She held no grudge for Luna. In fact, she liked Luna because she was kind. Mikan felt the brightness Luna had in her; she thought Luna seemed like a really cheerful girl as well. No worries or anything. But putting that aside, her heart still hurts from 4 years ago. True that all was forgotten when Kiyoshi entered her life, but Natsume _just_ had to show up in her life again. All the painful memories had been brought back to her.

Mikan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was well aware that she was crying again. She wasn't surprised; she let her tears fall from her eyes and fall against the wooden table. She heard the door opening and talking from behind her back. She didn't try to wipe the tears away; instead she let them keep flowing out from her.

"Why is it so dark? Is Mikan not back yet?" Hotaru's voice rang. Hotaru flipped on the lights and saw Mikan on the table, motionless, with unfinished food on the table. Ruka, who was beside Hotaru, ran to Mikan.

"Mikan!" Ruka called out.

"She's not dead is she?" Hotaru asked, expressionless. They heard a sniffle. "That answers my question."

"Are you… crying Mikan?" Ruka asked. He got a nod as an answer from Mikan. Another sniffle was heard from the girl. Hotaru picked up the dishes that Ruka made and placed them together and then she put them in the fridge. Mikan lifted her head up and cried on Ruka's chest instead. Ruka, at first, threw his hands back in surprised, but then knew that was not how he was supposed to act. He placed a hand on her back and the other on her head and started patting her head.

"He… Luna… she saw me outside and took me… to… to a su… sushi res… restaurant. She… said… that he… didn't want… me to go… go eat with them. And then… then when… when Luna… when she invited me… to go shopping… with… with them tomorrow… Natsume… he… he looked… at… at me… hoping i… I would go… but I reject because… because I couldn't stand it… and… and… I really think Natsume forgot me!" although Mikan stuttered a lot because of her need to gasp for air from her crying, Ruka understood what she was saying and was patient for her to finish her sentence. Hotaru on the other hand, was annoyed, both by Natsume's attitude and Mikan's need of gasping for air.

"Oi, be quiet baka. I'll go deal with him tomorrow, okay? I'll deal with him personally. I'll make him regret that he made you cry."

"No… no Ho… Hotaru!" Mikan stuttered on her words.

"Mikan…" Ruka said sadly.

"I'm fine… my heart just feels a little heavy, like it's filled with clouds. I'll be fine after crying it out, trust me. I think… _hic_… I think I'm just going to head for bed," Mikan said as she got up.

"I'm going to punch that guy tomorrow," Hotaru said emotionlessly. She wasn't feeling happy that Natsume had hurt Mikan's heart again.

"Ho… Hotaru! Mikan said not to! She'll be even more upset if you do," Ruka told Hotaru. Hotaru knew she would get upset if she really did punch Natsume, so she had to dispose the thought.

Mikan changed into her pajamas and headed for her bed. She got in and sighed. She took out her diary.

_Dear Diary,_

_I feel like my heart has been cracked open again. That stupid Natsume; this is the second time. Does he hate me that much? Maybe I should cut all possible connections that I have to him since he doesn't want to see me. I still have Kiyoshi, Hotaru and Ruka after all. But there's Luna, I made a new friend and I'm going to have to cut my connection with her since she has something to do with Natsume. Ugh, see Natsume! Because of you people suffer! I guess I'll have to keep my connection with him. –sigh-_

_I'm going to go sleep Diary. It's nice to let your feelings out to someone… or thing. Haha._

_-Mikan_

She reread what she wrote, closed it, and turned off the light. Her heart still feeling heavy filled with clouds and she did what she told Ruka she would do. She cried her heart out and had eventually fallen asleep. Hotaru and Ruka closed the door quietly when they stopped hearing sniffles and had knew Mikan fell asleep.

"She'll be fine, I sense something good's going to happen tomorrow," Hotaru told Ruka.

"I can never quite figure out how you can sense these things Hotaru," Ruka laughed. Hotaru shushed him and he stopped.

"It's a sixth sense. Now, you should be getting back to your dorm with Yuuichi-kun," Hotaru told him as she escorted him out the door.

"Ugh, Miyanaga-san. I hope my stuff are alright. Oyasumi Hotaru!" Ruka said.

"Oyasumi," Hotaru said and closed the door.

* * *

AND THAT, my fellow readers, IS CHAPTER TWO. Again, i'm sorry for the long wait! *bows and hopes to be forgiven* And ANOTHER WARNING. ^-^' Like chapter two, I can almost guarantee to you that chapter three might take a month too, or more. :( I'm sorry readers, it's not that I don't want to... really... honestly.. sorry!

ANYWAY, no previews for you guys! HAHAHA... that sounded harsh... or mean... but i was joking, here's your preview!

Preview of Chapter Three

**"Ne, what do you want to eat?" Hotaru had asked Mikan, who never replied since she froze, "Mikan?"**

**At the sound of Mikan's name being called, the other customer turned his head to see who he was sitting beside.**

**"Mikan?" the customer had said.**

WHO IS THE MASK STRANGER? Ok no it's just a customer. Not a mask stranger. Haha. WELL, maybe you can leave a review to tell me who you think it is. Could it be our long friend, Narumi-sensei! It sure would be swell to see him in the story again, no?

So that's for you to ponder over. :) UNTIL NEXT TIME FOLKS! Which would probably be a month, hopefully not.

XOXO,

Amulet-berriie


	3. KKKIYOSHI!

OKAY OKAY OKAY! D: I'm REALLY sorry for not uploading ANYTHING at ALL for the past 2-3 months. I've been BUSY, got lazy a bit... sort of forgot the password for email and fanfiction... But most of all... I didn't know how to progress my story. I'm trying to think of more ideas on where my story can go... but i can only get bits of it. Not one full thing. Anyway, I'm truly sorry for not uploading anything, even though my friend HAS reminded me many times. Would you find a place in your heart to forgive a girl who's apologizing and really sorry?

So yeah. Uhmm ANOTHER warning... story progressing REALLY REALLY SUPER slow... so the next post... won't be up for a long time again. Gomenasai! Hontou gomenasai!

We'll go on to reviews now.

**_Angel445566superb-LOL yes. I updated and I updated again! At a very slow rate. -sad face- sorry. LOL mikan's boyfriend? We'll see. (:_**

**_Xxdarkness-angelxX-aiyah, harsh to ignore Natsume... but he does deserve it i guess._**

**_keraii-Haha._**

**_AniME AddiCtz-D: it's Narumiiii, no im kidding. Don't know who it is, have to read._**

**_Blue favorite girl.-Hai, arigatou gozaimasu. And I'll try to keep updating as much as I can._**

**_Ran Ishibazaki-Seems like everyone wishes it's Kiyoshi. XD and Luna pretending to be nice? Well... i wouldn't say she's pretending._**

_**BlackLily-**Thank you. :D_

SO WITH THAT. Chapter Three.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**K…K… KIYOSHI?**

The morning birds were singing, the sun shone brightly in Mikan's room on her while she slept in her bed. All was peaceful. There was no rain; it was a clear sunny, hot day, but the wind blew making it all well again. Yes, it was a beautiful morning, signally a beautiful day. All except…

"SAKURA MIKAN!" Hotaru yelled and a blast of air was felt by Mikan who flew out of her bed and against the wall with an open window.

_**BAKA BAKA BAKA!**_

"Itai…" Mikan said as she rubbed the spot where the baka gun hit. Ah, the famous and well known baka gun invented by Hotaru while she was in elementary school, used for bakas like Mikan.

"Get up, it's alright 11. Too late to eat breakfast and I don't want to cook, let's go out and eat," Hotaru said as she lifted Mikan up and walked out the door. Mikan yawned, covering her mouth. She opened her eyes sleepily and scratched her head and stomach. She stretched for a while and went to the washroom. She brushed her teeth, her hair, and got dressed. For the top half of her, she put on a black T-shirt with a red rose that was covered with thorns. For the bottom half of her, she pulled up the newly bought skirt she got the day before and pulled on long white socks. For her hair, she left it down, like she has for the past year. She put eyeliner on and mascaras, red lipstick on, smacking it, and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Perfect! What time is it now?" Mikan looked at her watched, it read 11:15. Mikan smiled; new record for her for getting ready. She walked out her room door to her dormitory room where Hotaru sat watching television. Hotaru looked up a bit surprised to see Mikan ready so soon.

"That was fast," Hotaru commented, turning off the television and getting up. Mikan laughed and nodded in agreement. She grabbed her purse and started for the door with Hotaru behind her. They entered the elevator after leaving their room, someone suddenly called after them.

"Matte! Don't close the door yet!" the voice yelled. Mikan and Hotaru looked up to see Luna running after them. Mikan pressed the open button for the elevator and waited for Luna to enter the elevator, then pressed close.

"Ohaiogozaimasu Luna-chan," Mikan said and smiled, "going out shopping with Natsume?"

"Hai, it's a pity you can't come," Luna said sadly.

"Daijoubu, I'm going to eat brunch with Hotaru," Mikan told Luna. Luna's eyes seemed to spark with delight. She had an idea, Mikan and Hotaru knew. Mikan also knew she wasn't going to like it at all.

"How splendid! Natsume and I are going to eat lunch before going out to shop! Let's eat together!" Luna proposed the idea. Yep, Mikan didn't like it at all.

"Uh…" Mikan started.

"Gomen Koizumi-san, but I have some rather important things to discuss with Mikan that no one can hear. Knowing Natsume, he'd not be able to stand secrecy," Hotaru told Luna with her normal tone of voice.

"Oh… okay… it's alright," Luna said. The elevator dinged, meaning they reached their floor. The three friends walked out of the building and separated their ways at the University gate. Luna ran to the waiting Natsume that was outside. Mikan and Hotaru watched and left.

"_sigh_, thank you Hotaru," Mikan said sadly.

"It's alright; don't let it get to your heart. Enjoy the day, forget Hyuuga and Koizumi," Hotaru told Mikan. Mikan nodded promised to forget Natsume and Luna for that day. They entered _Bon Appetite!_ and saw that it was filled with people. Luckily there was an empty seat and the waitress brought them over to it. The table was really big though; there were still 4 seats left. The waitress asked if they would mind if the table was shared with other customers, they said they didn't mind. Another customer had come in.

"Ah! Hello, how many people?" the waiter asked.

"Just me," the customer said.

"Will you mind sharing a table?" the waiter asked.

"Nope," the customer said.

"This way please," the waiter said. A menu was brought and placed in front of the seat next to Mikan's. The other person pulled out the chair and sat in it. Mikan put her menu down to see who was sitting beside her and she froze.

"Ne, what do you want to eat?" Hotaru had asked Mikan, who never replied since she froze, "Mikan?"

At the sound of Mikan's name being called, the other customer turned his head to see who he was sitting beside.

"Mikan?" the customer had said.

"K… K… K… KI… KIYOSHI?" Mikan shouted. Everyone turned their head to see who had screamed at the top of their lungs. Hotaru looked past Mikan's head to see Kiyoshi, looking the same as always, no changes except, more handsome. Yes, that is right, Akira Kiyoshi, was sitting right in front of Mikan, well, beside, but you get me.

"Ohisashi buri desu ne Mikan? Genki desu ka?" Kiyoshi told her.

"Hai! Genki desu, demo, why are you here and not in Italy?" Mikan said.

"Oh, I couldn't wait to see my hime-sama, so I came back earlier," Kiyoshi said, smiling.

"You… that's not a good enough reason!" Mikan detested.

"Oh? What if I said I brought back the dress I promised to make for you alone?" Kiyoshi said.

"Still not good enough. You're supposed to be studying right now! And when in the world did you get on the plane? I was on the phone with you yesterday!" Mikan said confused.

"Ah, right after we hung up, I walked in the airport," Kiyoshi told Mikan.

"Ugh, still, I wish you'd finish your studies first. So what? Have you become a greater man yet Kiyoshi?" Mikan asked him while she looked at him sternly. She narrowed her eyes at him making Kiyoshi smile.

"I have become better than I was, I did not give a limit, I only said to become greater even if it means by a little," Kiyoshi joked.

"That's not funny," Mikan said.

"Haha, fine, but yes, I have become greater than I was in knowledge! And I decided that I'll finish school in Japan, it'd make no difference," Kiyoshi told Mikan.

"Mikan!" a voice was heard, Mikan froze. She knew who had just called her and she's very sure the person she doesn't want to see is with the person who called her. Kiyoshi and Hotaru turned their heads to look at who it was.

"Hm? Who's that?" Kiyoshi asked. A waiter brought the two people to their table seeing they know each other.

"Mikan! It's so nice to see you again! Ah, Hotaru! Ohaio!" Luna said cheerfully.

"Hn," Natsume said.

"Ohaio Luna and Natsume," Hotaru said emotionlessly. Kiyoshi looked at Natsume, remembering Mikan had liked him before. He was pretty sure she still did even after dating him for 4 years, since she wouldn't look at them.

"Ohaio Luna and Natsume," Mikan said as well, "oh, let me introduce you guys. This is Akira Kiyoshi, Kiyoshi, this is Hyuuga Natsume and Koizumi Luna," Mikan introduced. They all shook hands and nodded to each other, saying hi.

"Ohhh, you're boyfriend Mikan?" Luna winked at Mikan.

"Uhhh… ex?" Mikan explained.

"Ah, so how do you guys know each other?" Luna asked.

"The year after Natsume left, Kiyoshi was a new student. And he was also Mikan's boyfriend, but he left to France and Italy for University last year," Hotaru told them.

"Ahhh," Luna went while she nodded her head for a while. Natsume stared at Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi was looking at his food when he felt a strong sense of being stared at.

"So you were coming here for Lunch Luna?" Mikan asked.

"Yep! Natsume and I love this place. The food is delicious," Luna smiled sweetly at Mikan. Mikan returned a smile, although hidden behind it was a frown.

"Where's Ruka, Mikan?" Kiyoshi turned his head towards her and asked. Again, he felt an intense stare from Natsume, though he wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not.

"He's at home dealing with his roommate Miyanaga-san or something. Apparently he stole something from Ruka," Mikan replied as she ate.

"Oh, is that right?" he replied.

"So Kiyoshi-kun, if you're alright with me calling you that, what are you majoring in?" Luna asked.

"Fashion and designing clothes," Kiyoshi looked at Luna who was smiling brightly and Natsume, who didn't seem to care for anything that's happening at that moment.

"Oh that's cool! You probably know what Hotaru, Ruka, and Mikan are majoring so I'll tell you what Natsume and I are studying. I'm studying to become an actress and Natsume to become a doctor," Luna told Kiyoshi proudly.

Kiyoshi blinked at the girl and continued eating. The table was quiet for a long time, the only sound you could hear were the chattering from other tables. Hotaru had her everyday, emotionless face on. Inside her mind were different inventions she could create to earn big money. Kiyoshi was thinking about the new dress he had designed for Mikan. He was also thinking about what was so great about Natsume that made Mikan fall in love with him. Luna was thinking about her shopping spree with Natsume and imagining all the skirts and shirts she could try on.

Natsume and Mikan were thinking of something totally different. Natsume was thinking how he could get away with shopping with Luna because he didn't want to. He rolled his eyes a bit. Mikan was thinking of the dinner she had the previous night with Luna and Natsume. She wondered if they had forgotten everything that night.

The rest of the lunch was in silence. The five of them just sat there and ate their lunch for the next half an hour. Luna would occasionally talk to Natsume, but Natsume didn't respond a lot. At 12:30, they all said farewell. Natsume got in the car with Luna while Mikan, Hotaru and Kiyoshi turned towards the amusement park.

* * *

SO IT SEEMS THAT YOU'RE ALL CORRECT. It WAS Kiyoshi that came back. (: YAY! *claps*

again, i'm sorry for not uploading anything for a long time. ):

here's the preview:

**"Because…" Mikan started, "he makes me smile. He makes my heart skip a beat. I feel a sense of hope for everything whenever I'm with him. Do you get me?"**

**"Yes… because that's exactly how I feel for you. But like your heart has been shattered by him, mine has been shattered by you, haha," Kiyoshi gave a small, sad laugh.**

OKAY YEAH I KNOW. D: NOT THE BEST PREVIEW. But chill. (: I've got this under control. It's still only the beginning of the long-yet-to-be-decided-for-the-plot story. but it's coming. it's coming along. Please don't hate me. ):

i'm sorry i have to let you wait for a long time again. i will try to type the story on a regular basis when i'm not busy. but i can't promise much.

hope you enjoyed this chapter though!

XOX,

Amulet-berriie


	4. A Day at the Amusement Park

I'm back! About 2 months later... D: I'm so sorry everyone. I've been so busy with homework and everything because school was ending soon. The projects and everything just kept coming and coming and coming. But no worries, school's over now, there's exams next week. ): I don't know if I'll be fine or not but please wish me luck. (:

And so yeahhh, how has everyone been for the past 2 months? Summer's finally here isn't it? :D Actually, on Monday it'll be the first day of summer, but it's almost here.

Anyway, thank you for waiting so patiently for chapter four to come out. ON TO REVIEWS

_**Yours Truly-**HAHAHAHAHA. (: Thank you. There's no Luna in this chapter. (: OR IS THERE?_

_**Xxdarkness-angelxX**-Haha, let's not be too harsh on Natsume._

_**Ran Ishibazaki**-Thank you so much! :D_

_**Keraii-**):_

_**Angel445566superb-**Finally uploaded again eh? :P And thank you. ^^_

_**rosycheck**-Sadly I uploaded 2 months later. QQ._

_**Blue favorite girl.-** (=_

_**amita101oo1q2w-** I'm sorry. :( I never meant to make anyone cry. I'll see what I can do with the future of Mikan. (:_

_**xXBlackTenshiXx-**I bet so many people are happy that Kiyoshi's back. :P Welcome back Kiyoshi._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Four**

**A Day at the Amusement Park**

"So that's Hyuuga Natsume," Kiyoshi said as was walking with Mikan and Hotaru. He looked straight, with his hands in his pockets. Mikan and Hotaru turned their heads to look at Kiyoshi who had a smirk on his face. Mikan turned her head to look at Hotaru, who shift her gaze to look back at Mikan.

"He doesn't seem that good. What's so great about him?" Kiyoshi said after. The two girls turned theirs heads again to look at Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi turned his head to look at Mikan straight in the eyes. Mikan shifted her eyes towards the ground.

"Nothing really…" Mikan responded softly.

"Then why do you like him?" Kiyoshi asked, after turning his head to the front again.

"I don't li-"

"Don't lie to me Mikan. I can see it. You look at him with a different set of eyes than when you looked at me before," Kiyoshi said. Mikan lifted her head up towards the sky.

"Sorry. I guess you can still tell," Mikan apologized.

"So why do you like him?" Kiyoshi asked again, hoping to get an answer this time.

"Because…" Mikan started, "he makes me smile. He makes my heart skip a beat. I feel a sense of hope for everything whenever I'm with him. Do you get me?"

"Yes… because that's exactly how I feel for you. But like your heart has been shattered by him, mine has been shattered by you, haha," Kiyoshi gave a small, sad laugh.

"I'm sorry Kiyoshi, the past 4 years with you in Gakuen Alice were really fun. But it seems that my heart still belongs with him," Mikan said.

"Is there anyway I can get you to look at me instead of him?" Kiyoshi said.

"I believe not," Mikan sighed.

"You two are forgetting that I'm still here you know," Hotaru finally said aloud.

"Oh! I'm sorry Hotaru-san," Kiyoshi said apologetically.

"It's ok, it was interesting listening to you guys talk," Hotaru said.

"Ah haha, hontou?" Mikan said and scratched her head. The three of them walked in silence for a while.

"I think I'm going to go back to my place now. I'll call you later Mikan," Kiyoshi said. He turned and crossed the street and started walking back the other way. The girls watched him as he turned another corner and disappeared without looking back.

"Do you… think I hurt him really badly?" Mikan asked. She got no response and turned to her head to see that Hotaru had started off without her again. She ran up to Hotaru.

"You have got to stop doing that Hotaru!" Mikan pouted.

"Stop doing what?" Hotaru said with no expression, her eyes suddenly got wide as she stopped walking, "ah! Money."

Mikan stared at Hotaru and suddenly laughed as Hotaru picked up the coin. Hotaru placed the coin in her pocket and turned to look at Mikan.

"Why are you laughing?" Hotaru asked.

"It's because you'd stop doing whatever you're doing **just** for money, even if it's 5 yen," Mikan laughed again.

"Well duh, you collect like… loads of 5 yens and in the end you'll be able to get something. Or maybe you might be 5 yen short and then POOF! You've found one five minutes ago and then you have your 5 yen," Hotaru told Mikan in an obvious manner. Mikan giggled sweetly and Hotaru smiled. Mikan stopped laughing and looked at Hotaru.

"Why are you smiling?" Mikan asked.

"What, can't I smile?" Hotaru gave a straight face.

"Nooo, you look nice when you smile. You should smile more Hotaru!"

"I do smile."

"No you don't! You're not even smiling now!"

"I smile when I want to and think it's necessary. Right now, I don't think it's necessary," Hotaru picked up her walking pace.

"Hotaru! Matte! You're walking too fast!" Mikan said.

"Well then haiyaku!" Hotaru said. Mikan smiled and picked up her pace. She slipped her arm under Hotaru's and smiled at her.

At the amusement park, Hotaru did her best to keep Mikan's mind from wandering back to what happened in the morning.

"Hotaru! Let's go in the haunted house!" Mikan said, trying to pull Hotaru.

"No," Hotaru replied.

"What? Are you scared?" Mikan pointed her index finger at Hotaru and started laughing.

"I'm not scared. I'm doing this for your own good," Hotaru looked at Mikan, who gave Hotaru a blank look.

"What? Are you saying I'm scared?"

"Perhaps."

"I'll show you! Let's go!" Mikan pulled Hotaru along to the haunt house. They sat down in the kart, Mikan with her arms crossed, hoping to prove to Hotaru that she's not scared. The kart started moving slowly.

"Welcome to the Haunted House where unexpected things happen. Please keep your hands to yourself so no one gets hurt. Next stop, the house of the dead," a voice said through the announcing system. Mikan had a stern look at her face while Hotaru had her usual expression.

_I'll prove Hotaru I'm not scared!_ Mikan thought to herself. They passed by a stage with spotlights focusing on a zombie like thing. They both focused on the zombie but nothing happened.

"I wonder if—" Mikan started.

"BOO!" Hotaru said as she grabbed Mikan's shoulder.

"AHH!" Mikan screamed, and then covered her mouth.

"So, I wonder who the one that said they weren't scared was…" Hotaru looked at Mikan.

"I… wasn't scared! You just surprised me! That's—" Mikan started again but something cold and icy blew into her ears and she jumped, "OH MY GOSH! WHAT WAS THAT?"

"Ooooohhhhhhhh" a soft voice went. Mikan looked around, panicked. Hotaru just said there with an emotionless face and yawned.

"Hotaru stop it! It's not funny!" Mikan said.

"It's obviously not me. We're in a HAUNT—" before Hotaru could finish talking, Mikan screamed again, "Mikan, promise me something. Don't **ever** come back in a Haunted House… EVER. Please. You're breaking my ears with that loud scream of yours."

Mikan looked at Hotaru and crossed her arms.

"Well SORRY for— AHHH!" Mikan screamed… **again**. Hotaru covered her ears for the rest of the way with one of her inventions and just closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she saw light through her eyelids and opened her eyes to see that they were already outside. She turned to look at Mikan, whose eyes were wide opened and hands clutching the bar in front of the kart really tightly. Hotaru waved her hand in front of Mikan.

"Mikan? Earth to Sakura Mikan. Are you still there Sakura-san? MIKAN!" Hotaru slapped Mikan's back, which evidently brought her back since Mikan turned to Hotaru and asked why she did that for. Hotaru got off the kart and Mikan, noticing now, followed Hotaru's action.

"So, do you want to go on that again?" Hotaru ask.

"No, I'm good. There are many others who want to ride it and I mean, there are still many other rides waiting for us! Hahahahahaha…" Mikan's eye starting twitching. Hotaru shook her head and started walking again.

"Where to now?" Hotaru asked.

"THE FERRIS WHEEL! We haven't been on that together in a long time," Mikan said.

"Ew, the Ferris wheel? You've got to be kidding, that's so childish…"

"It's not childish! Onegai Hotaru? Please?" Mikan begged Hotaru. Hotaru stared at her for a few seconds before giving in. Once again, Hotaru was dragged to the next ride; the Ferris Wheel. Although the lineup for the Ferris Wheel was long, Hotaru and Mikan were patient. Okay, maybe Mikan not as much. When they finally reached the front of the line and their seat was about to come, Mikan was jumping up and down. The person who helped them in looked at Mikan weirdly.

"You do know you can't jump on the Ferris Wheel right?" the man asked Mikan. Mikan laughed and nodded. The man gave a small nod and closed the gate. A button was pressed and the Ferris Wheel started moving again. Hotaru sat across from Mikan, who was looking out the glass.

"Wahh! Kirei!" Mikan said.

"I bet it would look prettier at night," Hotaru said as she looked out the glass as well. Mikan lifted her head slightly and gave a blank look.

"Oh… you're right…" Mikan looked at her watched, "oh dang, it's only 3 PM… we should've waited another 3 or 4 hours before coming on the Ferris Wheel."

"No. By then I'd be in the dorm eating dinner already," Hotaru explained.

"Demo Hotaru!" Mikan whined, yet again. Hotaru suddenly lifted her finger and pointed at something behind Mikan. Mikan turned around, following Hotaru's finger but couldn't see anything important. She turned her head to give her best friend a weird look.

"Look carefully," Hotaru said. Mikan turned around again to look, but she still couldn't see anything.

"Nani Hotaru?" Mikan sat on the seat with her knees and looked carefully.

"It's Ruka," Hotaru said. Mikan squinted her eyes to see better. Her head went around in a circle a few times before stopping.

"I SEE HIM!" Mikan exclaimed. She stuck out her finger and pointed to a blonde boy who was with another boy. As if right on cue, Ruka saw his two friends and waved a bit. The other boy turned around to look.

"Who's that? Oh my gosh don't tell-" Hotaru asked.

"I THINK THAT'S HIS ROOMMATE!" Mikan proclaimed. When Ruka's box reached the end, him and his friend waited for Hotaru and Mikan to finish they're 2nd round. And Mikan and Hotaru reached the ground, the hopped off and out of the box towards Ruka.

"Konnichiwa Sakura-san, Imai-san," Ruka greeted. His friend bowed his head at the two girls running up to them.

"Hi Ruka! Who's your friend?" Mikan asked, and then smiled at the boy beside Ruka. The boy nodded his head at Mikan.

"My roommate, Miyanaga-san. This is Sakura Mikan, and this is Imai Hotaru. They both went to the same school as me," Ruka explained to Miyanaga.

"Ha-Hajimameshite! B-bokura Mi-Miyanaga Yuuichi, d-dozo yoroshiku," Miyanaga bowed again. The boy had dark, short, orange hair and dark gray eyes, ones that will have you wander through his eyes and feel lost. He wasn't wearing any glasses so the flawless baby skin was noticeable. He was wearing a blue shirt and dark coloured jeans. He had a bandage on his nose too.

"Hajimameshite, atashi wa Imai Hotaru," Hotaru bowed.

"Hajimameshite! Atashi wa, Sakura Mikan-desu!" Mikan smiled brightly and shook Miyanaga's hand, "what happened to your nose? Does it hurt?"

The other three looked at Mikan who only shrugged back at them.

"Um no, I-I-I tripped while I was w-walking up the um, stairs in my house over the uh, summer," Yuuichi explained with hand gestures while stuttering.

"Daijoubu-desuka?" Mikan asked, gently poking the bandage. Yuuichi flinched, jumping back a bit and touched his bandage where Mikan poked. Mikan noticed this.

"D-da-daijoubu-desu!" Yuuichi said.

"Ah… gomenasai, didn't mean to scare you like that," Mikan apologized. Yuuichi shook his head and smiled. The 4 of them found a place to sit down and eat a few snacks while they talked. It was only 3:15 and they figured they still have a lot of time before dinner, so might as well hang around the place a bit longer. Around 3:45, they decided to go on a roller coaster ride with lots of loops and high peaks. Despite Yuuichi's phobia of roller coasters, he was force on by his 3 peers, well; Mikan did most of the forcing.

"Ne Yuuichi! Come with us, it's fun!" Mikan smiled and begged. Yuuichi shook his head really quickly.

"Iie! Dai-daijoubu! You g-guys can go. I'll st-stay down here. I w-will w-w-atch you guys from d-down here and h-hold all your b-belongings," Yuuichi offered.

"Mmm," Mikan shook her head, "come with us, onegai Yuuichi-kun! It'll be no fun without you!"

"D-demo I d-don't like roller c-coasters!" Yuuichi said, and looked at the one they were about to go on, frowning. Mikan looked at him sadly.

"It's 4 already. You guys spent 15 minutes persuading each other…" Hotaru said, a little annoyed because she wanted to get on the roller coaster already. She neither liked it nor disliked it. She was fine with anything at the amusement park. Hotaru looked at the two who were still persuading each other what Yuuichi should do. She became really annoyed. She took her hand and out grabbed Yuuichi's ears, pulling him with her, Mikan and Ruka to the roller coaster.

"I-Imai-san!" Yuuichi said.

"Urusai," Hotaru said with a blank face. The 4 students of Tokyo University got on the roller coaster at the very front. Hotaru sitting with Mikan while Ruka sat with Yuuichi. The ride began to move and Yuuichi started turning his head frantically.

_I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm doing to die!_ Yuuichi thought to himself. At first, the ride was very smooth, but up ahead you could see that the ride was about to go upwards. As the ride began to move upwards, Yuuichi screamed. Mikan giggled. When the ride was at the very top of the peak, it stopped for a bit then started going down very slowly, picking up the speed. Mikan and Ruka waved their hands and screamed with joy while Yuuichi screamed with fright. Hotaru just sat there with her arm up, holding a blank face.

At the end of what seemed like the longest, deadliest, dangerous ride to Yuuichi, they were finally on flat ground. Yuuichi started spinning around and swayed side to side in front of Ruka, Mikan and Hotaru. Sticking his hand out to find a chair, Yuuichi sat down placed his head on his knee.

"Tanoshii ne?" Mikan asked and laughed. Ruka agreed and started laughing too. Hotaru walked up to Yuuichi and placed a hand on his back, patting it.

"You alright?" Hotaru asked but Yuuichi didn't move, "I think he died guys…"

"NANI? Yuuichi-kun died? No way!" Mikan asked, rushing over to Yuuichi. She crouched in front of Yuuichi and moved her head to try and see Yuuichi's face. She poked his cheek a bit and his body shifted upwards.

"I'm n-not dead yet!" Yuuichi said.

"Welcome back! How was your visit to the dead?" Mikan asked, smiling.

"I-I said I d-didn't d-die!" Yuuichi stuttered out.

"Hai, hai," Mikan got up and brushed her skirt out, "Let's go back to the dorm now."

Mikan started walking towards the exit. Hotaru checked the time; it was 4:30pm. She nodded and she followed Mikan towards the exit. Ruka helped Yuuichi up as he was still dizzy from the coaster ride and they, also, followed the girls out. Indeed, today was a fun day.

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AGAIN. Thank you SO much for waiting patiently. I'm sorry for making you all wait THIS long for ONE chapter. I will go sulk in the corner... while I study for my exams.

Anyway, it's the summer, so I'll try to work on my fanfiction a little more, but i have to practice piano too, so it'll take some time. I'm totally free after piano exam though. Right anyway, you wouldn't want to read these random comments so I'll post up the preview now.

Preview to Kiyoshi's Story:

**"Kiyoshi-kun? He… was just a friend to me."**

**_Was just a friend to me… friend to me…_ My heart sank. The words echoed in my ears. I didn't know what to do anymore. The girl I like… likes my brother.**

**"Was?" Maki asked, "what happened?"**

AND THAT'S THE PREVIEW.  
Next week, it's all about Kiyoshi's past.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, look forward to the next.. if i upload it in time...

XOX,

Amulet-berriie


	5. Kiyoshi's Story Part One

Okay, so I think this is the point where you're all mad face at me and i'm just going "D:". But I REALLY am sorry for not uploading again after the last time i did... Which is probably almost half a year ago. LOOL. So sorry everyone! Don't hate me please. ): To tell you the truth, I really didn't know what to write. I had a major writer's block. Like, a MAJOR one. One that's so MAJOR (you're probably tired of hearing me say major. XD) that I pretty much "gave up" on this story... except I just didn't tell you guys. *shameful writer i know.* But I had a friend who was writing a story of her own, and listening to her talk about her story, she suddenly just inspired me to continue writing. I had this chapter for a while, and to be honest, this is only **part one** of this chapter. You know, it's like, 10 pages on words document and it's still in counting. XD But yeah, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to that friend who re-inspired me. And of course to all you readers! Enjoy~ oh right! My new pen name was it? Is not Amulet-berriie anymore but "Yoommiiz". And I just wanted to let you know that **the first 4 chapters have been rewritten a bit because of the change in plot for the story.** Thank you and sorry! I will apologize to each reviews individually.

**_Xxdarkness-angelxX-_**_I apologize for uploading this MONTHS later. Please forgive me. But yes, I guess in a way it IS fun to be harsh once in a while. (:_

**_Iceyicecream-_**_Again, I'd also like to apologize to you, please forgive me! But thank you for loving my story. (: I'm sure your will (or already did) turn out great! And I'll be sure to read it!_

**_Princessblue97-_**_I'm really sorry for the late upload, I apologize, please forgive me! And thank you for supporting my story, well, I hope you still do._

**_Amy Cahill09-_**_ I'm sorry you had to wait for MORE than a month! Please forgive me! Thank you for the rating for my story. XD It made me smile. (:_

**_beavermeadowsbev-_**_ Sorry for late upload, sorry sorry sorry! Forgive me please! And who Natsume ends up with, we'll have to wait and see. I'm not sure who Mikan will end up with just yet. (;_

**_Eymy-_**_I apologize for uploading so late! Please forgive me! And thanks! =D_

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**Chapter Five-Part One**

**Kiyoshi's Story**

When I was a young boy, I was very popular, everyone liked me.

**No, that's a lie.** I was never popular at all, not even a little bit. I was always that little geek that everyone said I was, with big round glasses and braces and a mushroom cut. People always laughed at me. I used to think they were laughing with me whenever I did something, until one day during spring back in grade 3 when I was walking out the school door, I heard my classmates talking about me with a girl I liked, Yoshida Aoi. Aoi has been my childhood friend since we were 2 years old. We were pretty close. I quickly hid.

"Akira-kun looks so stupid; did you see his new haircut?"

"You mean the mushroom cut?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh my gosh, that haircut looks so bad! I almost died from laughing just by looking at it."

"Ne, Maki-chan, Nana-chan, that's mean," Aoi spoke up. I smiled, knowing she stood up for me and didn't act like the other girls.

"Nani? …Oi, Aoi-chan, I heard that Akira-kun likes you!" Maki poked Aoi on the shoulder and laughed. Nana laughed with her.

"S-stop lying! He doesn't like me!" Aoi said.

"Do you like him?" Nana asked. Aoi stared at Nana with a questioning face.

"Atashi?" Aoi asked, pointing to herself. Nana nodded her head while she smiled. Aoi shook her head while she frowned.

"You don't?" Maki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I… think I like someone else," Aoi smiled shyly and clasped her hands together close to her heart. My heart stopped when I heard those words.

"Someone else? Aoi-chan, do tell us who!" Nana shook Aoi's shoulder and smiled widely. Aoi laughed and signaled them to come in a little closer. Maki and Nana's head went down and Aoi, very silently whispered the name. My eyes widened and I froze. Although Aoi whispered the name, I was at a perfect angle to see the words form from her mouth.

"Hi-ro-yu-ki senpai."

"Nani! Hiroyuki senpai? You mean Akira Hiroyuki?" Maki screamed. Aoi covered Maki's mouth and looked around.

"Shhh! Don't be so loud Maki-chan, the whole school can hear you!" Aoi let go of Maki's mouth and signaled for Maki to be quiet.

You may be wondering 'Akira? Isn't that the same as Akira Kiyoshi?' Well you're right. Akira's my last name too. Reason being is that Akira Hiroyuki is my big brother. He's 2 years older than me and really popular in school. He looks just like me, except without the braces and mushroom cut. He's really smart, but when he wears glasses, it makes him look even smarter. I've always looked up to him since I was young. Aoi and I played with him a lot, but recently he's been too busy with schoolwork and school activities.

"Why do you like Hiroyuki-senpai though, other than the fact that he's popular? He looks just like Akira-kun in our class, except a lot better," Nana asked.

"Hiroyuki-senpai is Kiyoshi-kun's brother, so of course they would look alike. The only difference is that Hiroyuki-senpai sparkles in my eyes. He knows how to make me laugh and he's takes care of me really well. He makes me smile just by looking at him," Aoi looked off to the sky.

"What about Akira-kun? Weren't you childhood friends?"

"Kiyoshi-kun? He… was just a friend to me."

_Was just a friend to me… friend to me…_ My heart sank. The words echoed in my ears. I didn't know what to do anymore. The girl I like… likes my brother.

"Was?" Maki asked, "what happened?"

"I can't go near him anymore. With that look of his, it's an embarrassment. People started laughing at me, I couldn't stand it," Aoi spoke.

"So you just suddenly stopped talking to him?" Nana asked.

"Pretty much…" Aoi answered again.

"I knew it! See, his look is just so stupid. Oh gosh, the way he acts too. He walks around flinging his arms as if he was a bird. That is one of the stupidest thing I've seen. He's a klutz too. Always bumping into desks and chairs and falling," Maki-chan said.

"Maki-chan…" Aoi said softly. I watched them very quietly and sighed. I saw a bunch of guys a year older coming towards me with a basketball in their hand from the corner of my eye. I paid no attention to them and concentrated on Aoi. I felt a heavy push and I fell to the ground. I looked up to see the boys with the basketball earlier.

"Hey, watch where you're standing!" the guy at the front said. I shifted my glasses and stood up.

"Gomen, but you bumped into me, you could've moved around me," I reasoned out.

"Oh, gomen! I'm sorry for bumping into you," the guy said, being sarcastic and rolled his eyes, "look punk. You better watch where you're standing next time or else."

"I'm sorry," I quietly said. I looked at the ground and nodded my head plenty of time.

"Hey, isn't that the kid that everyone says is stupid? Akira Kiyoshi or something?" another boy at the back of the group said. My eyes widened. Is that what everyone says? I could feel the guy at the front look at me with a smirk on his face.

"Hehh, so this little mushroom hair cut boy is the great Akira of stupidity. Not bad, not bad…" my face was lifted by the boy's hand. I looked at his eyes, and his eyes looked at my face. He pushed my face away after a few seconds. My head whipped to the right.

"Itai," I said quietly. I looked up at Aoi's direction and saw that she was looking at me, almost with a disgusted face.

"Look punk, don't ever stand in my way again, you got it?"

"Now, that's no way to talk to your kohai," I heard a voice from the side. I looked up and saw my brother smiling at the boys.

"Onii-san…" I whispered.

"Hi… hiroyuki-senpai! We're sorry!" the boys bowed.

"I don't want to see either of you guys near my brother again! Otherwise you're going to get it!" my brother put on a threatening face. The boys bowed and ran off.

"You alright Kiyoshi?" Hiroyuki asked me. I looked at him for a while, taking in what Aoi said about him. I guess I could see why she likes him. He has a soft side to him that's charming and his aggressive side is just another good trait of his. I turned away.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" I started walking out the door. Aoi, Maki and Nana were still standing there. I saw Maki and Nana nudging Aoi. Hiroyuki placed his arms around my shoulder and threw his bag around his own shoulder and sighed.

"Isn't okaa-san making tempura today? I can't wait," my brother smiled.

"Hiro-niisan!" Aoi called out. Hiroyuki stopped and turned around, dragging my neck with him. We saw Aoi running up to us, she waved at Maki and Nana as the two of her friends left. All three of us started walking again.

"Konnichiwa Aoi-chan!" my brother ruffled her hair with the hand that was on my shoulder.

"Konnichiwa Hiro-niisan and Kiyoshi-kun," she smiled. The only time Aoi really talked to me, was when my brother was around.

"How are you doing Aoi-chan?" my brother asked her. She nodded her head and said she was fine. I watched her as she talked to my brother and basically only my brother all the way home.

Reaching home, I ran to my room and closed my door. I placed my bag on the ground and flopped on my bed. I stayed in that position for a good 10 minute before getting up and looking at myself in the mirror that was in my room. I took my glasses off and tried to look at myself in the mirror, but I wasn't able to see myself clearly. The degrees for my eye sights are pretty strong; strong enough to not let me see myself through the mirror. I put my glasses back on. The words that Maki, Nana and the older boys said echoed in my head.

"_Akira-kun looks so stupid; did you see his new haircut?" "Oh my gosh, that haircut looks so bad! I almost died from laughing just by looking at it." "Hey, isn't that the kid that everyone says is stupid? Akira Kiyoshi or something?" "Hehh, so this little mushroom hair cut boy is the great Akira of stupidity. Not bad, not bad…"_

I covered my ears and crouched on the ground, shaking my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and kept shaking my head.

"Kiyoshi! Come down and eat some fruits," my mother said as she opened the door, "Oh! Are you okay Kiyoshi?"

"I'm going out for a bit!" I got up and ran pass my mom, out my bedroom door.

"Matte! Kiyoshi! Your fruits!" My mom called behind me. I heard her sigh when I didn't stop. I ran out the front door. I didn't know where I was going, I just kept running until my feet were tired, and when they were, I found myself at the park. A bunch of my classmates were there; some on the swings, others on the playground while talking to their friends on the ground. When I took a step in, everyone stopped talking and looked at me one by one. I stood there, looking around until I saw Maki, Nana, and Aoi. Maki and Nana covered their mouth; I could tell they were laughing at me. I continued walking through the park.

"Hey, look who's here!" a boy by the name of Daiki said on the playground, "why if it isn't Sir Fall-a-lot, how's the scraped knee from last time?" Everyone laughed. I used to think he said that as a joke, but now I can see that he meant it. I ignored him and kept walking right through.

"Hey! I liked your mushroom cut, where'd you get it? Maybe I should get one," another boy yelled out to me. I looked at the ground and kept walking. Ignoring whatever they said.

"Oi! Why don't you show us that **stupid** funny face again?" A girl yelled out this time. I clenched my fist together.

"Yo! Are you ignoring us mush cut?" Daiki yelled out again. I heard him get down with a loud _**THUD**_ on the ground. I picked up my pace and started speed walking towards the other exit.

_WHY didn't I just turn around and walk back from where I came from instead of walking this way?_ I asked myself. Perhaps I really am stupid… It was too late now anyways; going back would be no use. I kept my eyes on the ground and kept walking quickly, hoping to make it through safely. I saw a foot stick out right in front of me, but before I could dodge it, I tripped over it first. I fell directly into mud. It had rained the day before and the dirt was still wet.

I heard everyone laughing. This time, I knew it wasn't with me, but at me. I got up and found myself all covered from mud. From my face to my knee, all you could see was mud. I took my glasses off, trying to wipe the mud off the lens. I could hear the laughter of all my classmates. When I got most of the mud off, I put it back on and saw all of my classmates surrounding me in a circle, pointing and laughing at me. I turned my head right and left, hearing laughs everywhere. Again, I crouched down in a ball and covered my ears with my hand. My eyes widened with fear. I spotted a girl off to the side, it was Aoi. She looked at me, turned, and left.

Despite covering my ears, I could still hear everyone laughing. I looked at the ground and closed my ears. _Stop it…_ I repeated in my head. _Stop it! STOP IT!_ No matter how much I screamed in my head for them to stop, it didn't help. I still heard them.

"Serves you right for ignoring us when we talked to you. Try that again mush cut, and we definitely won't forgive you!"

"Stop it…" I whispered softly, "Stop it…"

"What's that? I can't hear you with all that mud in your mouth, haha!"

"Stop it!" I spoke out loud, "I SAID STOP LAUGHING!"

There was a moment of silence when I said that. I was shaking by then. Tears were running down my cheek. Suddenly I heard someone laugh again, and like it was a contagious disease, everyone started laughing once again.

"Did you hear him? He said to stop it, oh look. He's shaking so hard he's crying now," I heard Daiki say. I got up and started running the way I came in towards home. I heard Daiki shout to me again.

"Yeah that's right crybaby! Run back to your mommy!"

I ran towards my house and stood outside, crying. Just then, I felt drops of water on my head and hand and after a few seconds, it started raining lightly. I stood there, as the rain slowly cleaned the mud off me. I heard the door opening, and I saw my brother there with an umbrella.

"Oh! Kiyoshi, I was about to look for you because it was raining," he then looked at me carefully, "my goodness, what on earth happened to you? Why are you covered in mud and why are you standing outside in the rain? Come in!"

I didn't move from my spot. Right now, the only thing I had to hide my tears was the rain itself. My brother gestured me to go in, but I didn't move. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me in. I held back. He looked at me with a confused face.

"Can you… at least let the rain wash off the mud first? Please?" I asked him. He looked at me, sighed and nodded. He let go of my wrist and turned to face me.

"I'll go get a towel then, don't run off again, ok?" he asked. I nodded. He went in the house and closed the door behind him. I stood waiting in the rain, which got heavier has I stood out there. The mud quickly washed off and formed a muddy puddle around me. I heard the door open again revealing Hiroyuki and a brown towel. I looked at him for a minute, and walked into the house. I heard the door close behind me. I shook myself a bit to get some of the water off.

"You should've done that outside," Hiroyuki said to me. I shrugged. He placed the towel on my shoulders as I took my shoe and sock off. Running was heard as my mom was running down the stairs looking at me.

"Oh! Ohhhh! My poor baby! What happened to you?" my mother embraced me even though I was still wet. She let go of me and started dragging me up the stairs where towels were placed on the carpet from the top of the stairs to the washroom so that I wouldn't get the carpet wet. She led me into the washroom where there was already a hot tub of water prepared for me. I saw my pjs on a chair, already there for me after my bath. My mom started helping me take my shirt off, but I quickly held it down.

"Okaa-san! I can do that myself! I'm not 3 years old anymore, please!" I told my mother. She chuckled and left the washroom. I watched her as she went down the stairs before closing the door. I undressed and got in the tub. It felt good. I sat in there thinking about everything that happened today. Today was definitely one of my worst days. Or maybe it's not one of them, but really the only one. Sighing, I held my breath and dunk my head underwater. The water felt nice, although I did wish that it could drown my bad memories away so that I didn't have to think of it anymore.

I was so deep in thoughts that I didn't hear my brother calling out to me.

"-yoshi! Kiyoshi! Oi!" Hiroyuki called out as he slapped my face. I opened my eyes slowly to see a worried expression on my brother's face. I felt my throat choke a bit and I started coughing. I sat up straight, still coughing. My brother patted my back.

"Ahh, thank goodness you're alive Kiyoshi!" Hiroyuki hugged me.

"What happened?" I asked, noticing I was in my room on my bed with clothes on again instead of the bathtub.

"I went to check out if everything was okay since you stayed in the washroom for an awfully long time, longer than usual at least. So when I opened the door I saw you in the water and it seemed like you fainted in the water. Thank goodness I got you out in time; you were out for 2 hours," he explained to me. I must've been so deep in thought that I wasn't aware of my surrounding and had accidentally breathed and hadn't noticed anything.

"Oh… yeah… thanks," I shook my head.

"… you alright there little bro?" he asked. I looked at him.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Well you came home all muddy and stayed out in the rain instead of coming in, and you almost drowned in the bathtub. I'd say something's wrong."

"Nothing wrong… I just fell in the mud on the way home and I didn't want to get the house dirty so I let the rain wash off the mud. The water must've been too warm that I fainted from the heat," I told him. I found the excuses pretty well said.

"… Alright, but just so you know, I don't believe you; anyway, dinner's ready. Do you want to come and eat?" he asked me. I thought about it for a while before saying no. He nodded and left my room. I looked at the clock on my desk; it read 7:30pm. Maybe I should call it an early night and just go sleep; but I didn't feel tired at all. I lied on my bed a while more and closed my eyes thinking again about today's incident. Before I realized it, I fell asleep despite not being tired.

Each day after the day I found out I was being laughed at; someone would always pull a prank on me. If not, then they would do something mean to me. I would always return home not the same way I walked out my house, if you get what I mean. I walk out my house with a plaid shirt and jeans and walk in my house covered with paint. My mom or brother would always ask if anything happened and worry about me and each day I had to lie and tell them nothing's wrong and that I did this to myself.

As each day passed by, I don't know when it started, but I started growing hatred towards school and everyone in school, other than my brother. I lied on my bed on the last day of school. I touched my hair.

_Is my mushroom cut really that bad? I've always liked it…_ I thought to myself. _They don't have a right to make fun of me! Mush cut? I have a NAME you know._

Thinking about it over and over again, I started getting angry. If appearance was all that, then I'll change and let them see that appearances don't matter! They WILL pay for all those times they made fun of me. I have all the time I need this summer. I'm getting my braces off in 2 weeks, I can get a haircut and I need to change my glasses next month as well. I'll change my whole wardrobe. I'll get them back; **then** we'll see who'll be the ones laughing.

For summer, that's exactly what I did. I got my braces taken off and whitened my teeth; so now they're straight and white. I changed my glasses to ones that were more in style instead of the big round ones I usually wore. My whole outfit, from top to bottom had changed throughout the whole summer. Last but not least, my hair. I saved that for last because I really did like the mushroom cut, but now it was time to part with it. I patted it a bit and sat in the barber shop. They cut the mushroom part off and put a little style in. The back was pretty short, but the front was long, of course shorter than the mushroom cut I had. I had a bit of bangs now that swayed to the right. I dyed my hair dark red, so it only really showed in the sun, but even if I'm not standing in the sun, you can see it a bit.

"Kiyoshi dear, why do you suddenly want to change your whole style? I'm so not used to it! It must be because you're growing older, ohh, that means I'm aging too!" my mother cried. I looked at her while we walked out the barber shop.

"Mom, I just want to start fresh for grade 4. Is that a problem?" I asked.

"No… but ohh, I miss your mushroom cut and the cute big round glasses you had!"

"Okaa-san, Kiyoshi changing his style isn't a bad thing. He's a growing boy; you don't expect him to stay the same throughout his whole life do you? If he stays the same, he'll be laughed at in the future!" Hiroyuki explained to my mother. She seemed to understand that.

_In the future? Why not try my whole life?_ I scoffed and looked away. When I got home, I looked at myself real good in the mirror. I looked really different. I couldn't even tell that it was me in the mirror. I had gone through a major change in looks without doing plastic surgery and to be honest, I don't think I look half bad. I smirked at myself in the mirror. They better watch out.

* * *

Woot! I'm not sure if you guys liked this story.. IT's like.. a mini (yet so long) side story.. while I think of how to continue writing the real thing. LOL. If I lost a few of you, I really do sincerely apologize. Whoa, people must be annoyed I keep apologizing.. or maybe some are still angry at me and wants me to continue apologizing? Anyway, I'll upload the 2nd part of this story.. when I have it done. LOL. Exams JUST ended for me for semester one, but I'm still quite busy, so i'll try and upload/work on part 2 ASAP!

So yeah, Preview to Kiyoshi's Story part 2:

**"Yay!" the girl said. I don't exactly know who she was, but I'll get to know her, no? I got up and held the girl's hand and led her out towards the roof of the school. We started talking a bit, her name was Suzuka. Her looks, I would say, are pretty, but I still liked Aoi.**

Whoa, what the what... just happened? Short Preview, but i'll let yo uknow what happens after i upload! (;

Stay tuned! I promise i'll try to get it out SOON. Like... maybe Sunday... LOL, we'll see.

XOX,  
amulet-berriie


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